New ‘temporary’ entrance to Bury’s tram stop will be needed for at least three years

Monday, 23 June 2025 15:40

By Chris Gee, Local Democracy Reporter

A temporary new route to Bury town centre’s tram stop is to be created as plans accelerate to demolish and rebuild the towns’s transport interchange.

In the past few days, a planning application has been lodged by Greater Manchester (TfGM), which seeks to build an access staircase between Angouleme Way underpass and the Metrolink platform.

The new entrance is needed while the redevelopment at Bury Interchange – expected to take three years – takes place.

The site in question is a portion of the footpath which runs parallel to the Metrolink platform on the underpass below Angouleme Way before
gradually stepping up to meet Angouleme Way.

It is contained within the railway cutting and is bound by the Metrolink platform to the north and south and the existing Metrolink track to the west.
The stairs will also provide a fire escape route between the tram platform and the Angouleme Way pedestrian underpass.

A planning statement in support of the project has been published by TfGM.

It states: “The proposed scheme forms part of a phased masterplan for the redevelopment of the existing interchange.

“The two relevant phases are new Metrolink access and platform improvement works including the provision of a new access footbridge, which will provide a new direct route from the south to the Metrolink platform and provide a new pedestrian link between Union Square and Knowsley Place to the west and Pyramid Park to the east.”

This phase is currently subject to a separate planning application which is under consideration. The statement added: “The second stage is the demolition and redevelopment of the existing interchange building and the development of a new modern ‘exemplar’ facility.

“This phase will be subject to a full planning application in due course.”

The application seeks temporary planning permission for three years to ‘maintain passenger access to the Metrolink platform from the
town centre throughout the duration of the overall Bury Interchange redevelopment project’.

The temporary access will be comprised of a single stair run that sits perpendicular to the existing Metrolink platform. It will run will cross from the existing platform, over the eastern track and up the existing embankment to meet the existing path that runs parallel to the platform, via an underpass below Angouleme Way.

A decision will be made on the proposals by Bury Council in the coming weeks.

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